Mental Focus....Good Article

very cool article.  Thanks!

Those are pretty good "Mindfulness" exercises whether you're an athlete or not. Thanks

Great article. Thanks.

He and my coach Will wrote the article...and I got it a few weeks ago. I tried the penny excercise and really helps me work on having a positive attitude and makes my days better.

One of the things I really like about my coach he helps me with mental aspect of training and races that when I first started I didn't realize was important. I think now it is 50%/50% mental/physical for me to do my best.

 

Edited by KathyG 2006-10-14 4:55 PM

A friend of mine once told me...

They say posession is 9/10's of the law. I say, Training accuracy and
an effective plan is 9/10th's of the law for Ironman fitness.

I was referencing the need to prepare for Ironman many months and years in advance. Any short term advice won't be of much value. I find many people looking for quick answers to complex questions. Doing Ironman relatively fast and injury free requires a depth of knowledge of sacrifice, realism, nutritional habits, restoration, physiology, training systems and experience. A problem many triathletes have is very poor planning and execution. They are riddled with injuries, frustration, metabolic deficiences and health problems. Ironman is very taxing on the body-moreso than most realize. Injuries hide and incrementally develop through repetitive stress. It's a serious game with real consequences but is beautiful if well prepared.

We can all find "outlier" examples of unseemingly odd Ironman finsher/DNF stories. I have a friend who is 6'1, 260 pounds, a masoner by day with a bit of a gut. This guy does a sub 11 hour Ironman and has finished 10 Ironman races. He can run a sub 3:30 marathon. He did the famed Mt. Washington climb with me this July in 1:22 minutes. Most look at him at the start line and think..."can this guy even finish". Anomoly, yes. He doesn't realy train scientifically, he eats steak/pizza/take out 7 days a week and drinks a ton of beer. How does he do it and keep doing it year after year? Who knows.

But for most, if you just want to finish an Ironman, then go out and race with you heart. If you just want to finish an Ironman and feel pretty good physically afterwords, then race with your heart and train right. If you just want to finish an Ironman to the best time physically, mentally and spiritually possible then you must re-read my posts from above. The guy who told this to me is an exercise physiologist who, for example, finished top 10 IMAZ 2006, ahd done Hawaii and placed AG.

The true questoin to ask yourself before attempting to race Ironman distance is how to meld your mind/body/spirit into one to feel good after finishing the race to your true potential which for most is an elusive goal unattained because of mental weakness, unpreparadness, poor eating habits, lack of proper training technique, etc.

Can most in fair or even poor shape with little training finish an Ironman, sure. Will most of them feel like they got hit by a train, yes.

You have to ask yourself what your Ironman goal is and why you are attempting Ironman distance.

Like some on the board, who constantly ask, for example, What about the free schawg? Why are the entry fees so high? What about disk wheels shaving off 2 minutes on my bike split? Lets find 15 different weather forcasts and compare them all to see if it's going to be 84 or 84.5 degrees race day. They are focused on entirely wrong and misguided goals which will defeat their ability to ahcieve their potential because they are afraid to confront the real requirements of racing Ironman distance. There exisits no short cuts or quick ways to get dialed in.

Focus, competativeness, composure, and confidence are traits which many can talk about but few can actually put into play on a daily long-term basis to translate into a strong Ironman finish.